Minutes 02/25/2014 - Laserfiche WebLink

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February 25, 2014 Background: • The City must amend its FY 2013-14 General Fund Budget to reflect both the revenue and expenditures related to the Treasurer's office sales of the EZ Pass transponders. Discussion: • The City Treasurer began selling EZ Pass transponders in late December in order to provide a convenient location for our citizens to purchase them. These transponders allow for the most cost effective way to pay for the new tolls at the Downtown and Midtown tunnels. Sales have been brisk, and the Treasurer has ordered 6,800 transponders so far. • The passes sell for $35 each, and cost $31 per unit. As of January 29, the Treasurer has sold 3,912 EZ Passes. • The revenue received from the passes will offset the cost, although there may be a timing difference based on when passes are ordered and sold. In order to reflect both the revenues and expenditures related to the passes, a budget appropriation is needed. Financial Impact: • The appropriation is budget-neutral. There is a possibility that all remaining passes may not sell during this fiscal year, but the revenue will eventually be realized and the difference is expected to be relatively small. Recommended Action: • Adoption of the ordinance. Vision Principle: Efficient, Responsive Government. Next Steps Following Council Action: • Finance will complete the necessary budget adjustments. Motion by Ms. Psimas, and seconded by Mr. Meeks, to adopt the following ordinance, and was adopted by the following vote: "ORDINANCE TO APPROPRIATE $211,400 IN THE FY 2013-14 GENERAL FUND TO BE USED FOR THE PURCHASE AND SALE OF EZPASS TRANSPONDERS." Ayes: Cherry, Edmonds, Meeks, Moody, Psimas, Randall, Wright Nays: None 14 - 76 -Adoption of a resolution authorizing the City Manager to execute a Memorandum of Agreement between the City of Portsmouth and the Hampton Roads Sanitation District regarding a Regional Consent Order pertaining to sanitary sewer overflows. Vision Principle: Efficient, Responsive Government. Background: • Portsmouth and 12 other localities in the region signed a consent order with the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) to address wet weather sanitary sewer overflows. HRSD has a similar consent order with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). • The consent order requires the development of a wet weather plan to ensure adequate sewer system capacity during wet weather events. • In 2012, HRSD suggested that regional consolidation of the locality sewer systems into a single regional system would be a better way to comply with the consent order and be more cost-effective. HRSD and all localities in the region participated in a year-long study to determine whether regionalization was a viable option. • The study was completed in Summer 2013 and concluded that regionalization would be an effective solution that could potentially save a collective $1 billion in the region. • Multiple localities did not view regionalization as a viable option and communicated to HRSD their reluctance to vote for regionalization. • HRSD developed a hybrid proposal whereby HRSD would be responsible for the wet weather management plan and associated capital improvements, but that the localities would still own and operate their individual sewer collection systems.